NEW BEDFORD — With a share of the South Coast Conference title on the line, it was the Bears who roared the loudest.

DEREK VITAL

NEW BEDFORD — With a share of the South Coast Conference title on the line, it was the Bears who roared the loudest.

The GNB Voc-Tech girls' basketball team knocked off Apponequet, 54-40, on Sunday night, laying claim to their first conference title in the nearly 30-year history of the SCC. The Bears finished league play with a record of 14-2, tied with Bourne for conference supremacy. The Lakers fall to 13-3 in the league and finish in third place.

"I'm so proud of the girls," said GNB Voc-Tech head coach Dave Harrison. "The character of these girls is incredible. They get along so well. They are very unselfish."

The Bears (18-2, 14-2 SCC) outscored the Lakers 14-3 in the third quarter, erasing a three-point halftime deficit. The GNB Voc-Tech frontcourt of Nakira Examond, Iris Rivera and Jen Pires combined to score 44 of the Bears' 54 points and snared numerous rebounds against the smaller Lakers.

"We didn't rebound as well as we would have liked," said Apponequet head coach Trevor Gagnier. "We made some shots early. In the third quarter we made a three to go up 28-24 and didn't score the rest of the way. That was the difference right there."

The Bears led 36-28 at the end of three quarters. The Lakers (16-3, 13-3 SCC) cut the deficit to six a couple of times in the fourth quarter, but couldn't get any closer. A pair of free throws by Apponequet junior Katie Simonsen made the score 40-34 midway through the fourth quarter, but Examond responded with consecutive baskets to give GNB Voc-Tech a double-digit advantage.

Harrison said while the Bears' frontcourt players did the bulk of the scoring, it was the play of his guards that was the difference between Sunday's game and their 52-38 loss at Apponequet last week.

"Our guards played much better," said Harrison. "We didn't turn the ball over as much as we did the other night. We played a little better defense. Any time we keep the opponent around 40 points we've got a decent chance of winning."

The first half, was extremely competitive with six lead changes and neither team getting up by more than seven points. A 3-pointer by Rileigh Avila gave the Bears an 11-9 lead at the end of the first quarter. The other eight GNB Voc-Tech points in the opening frame were all scored by Examond.

A pair of free throws by Pires gave the Bears a 22-15 lead midway through the second quarter. The Lakers closed out the first half with a 10-0 run. A 3-pointer by Kailyn Milligan gave Apponequet a 25-22 advantage at the break.

Examond scored a game-high 22 points for the Bears. Rivera netted 13, all coming in the second half, and Pires chipped in with nine. Only three players scored for the Lakers, led by Milligan's 17-point effort. Callie Nee added 12 and Simonsen finished with 11.

SOUTHCOASTVARSITY.COM MVP: Examond, for her 22 point effort. She was also a force underneath, grabbing numerous rebounds.

PLAYOFF ATMOSPHERE AT GNB VOC-TECH: The Z. Walter Janiak Fieldhouse was rocking on Sunday in the Bears' regular season finale. GNB Voc-Tech Athletic Director Rob Pimental estimated the crowd to be 800 people, the largest turnout of the season for a girls' game. A few factors contributed to the massive turnout: it was Senior Night and the Bears honored 12th graders Kristen Sabino, Mandy Carneiro, Tayisha Examond, Chantyl DePina, Pires and Megan Young, a share of the conference title was on the line and the Sunday night makeup game was one of the few games on the schedule. "That's the biggest crowd I've had here in five years," said Harrison. "That was awesome. They turned out for us and we appreciate that."

GAGNIER ON THE LAKERS' SUCCESS THIS YEAR: "We've had an outstanding season. To have an opportunity to win the league in the last game of the season that's what you want. We came up short tonight. Give Voke credit. They earned it."

NOTES: The Lakers connected on six 3-pointers while GNB Voc-Tech had two. The Bears went to the free throw line 25 times, making 11. The Bears finish with a record of 12-0 for the purposes of the State Vocational Tournament and will be the top seed in the four-team large school division. They will host an as yet to be determined opponent on Thursday.